How to Get Beautiful Ballet Feet and Arches

A beautifully pointed foot is the finishing touch to any dancers physique. Sure, not everyone can attain the extreme arches of Beckanne Sisk, but with the right exercises, you can achieve the best foot for your body. With all of the complicated foot stretchers and contraptions these days, it is hard to know what to trust or what really works. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a ton of money on a fad product to get beautiful ballet arches – there are simple exercises that you can do at home to get those fab feet!

Exercise 1 – Flex and Pointe – This sounds simple, but I want you to try this exercise (video below) while lying on your back. This exercise will not only strengthen the arches of your feet, but also the muscles in the ankles and the calves. I recommend starting with 10 repetitions of each part, there are 4 parts to this exercise.

Exercise 2 – Towel Scrunch – This is a secret go-to exercise for dancers who are injury prone in the ankles and metatarsals. I recommend doing this at least three times per week for 15 minutes at a time. Video can be found here –> http://balletstrength.com/Ballet_Strength/intrinsic.html

Exercise 3 – Thera-band – While you may not have a thera-band lying around the house, they are not hard to find. You can get off brand versions at Walmart and sporting goods stores now. Give these basic exercises a go before class or as a cool down in the evening.

Give these three exercises a try and you will be well on your way to having your best feet and arches! As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding these exercises. I have also designed a 6 week Perfect Pointe Program to take the guess work out of foot and ankle training for you. Available exclusively at Ballet Strength –> http://balletstrength.com/Ballet_Strength/powerpointe.html

Hi Unfortunately I have bunions on each foot (nice) and I struggle to point my big toe, are there any exercises I can do to strengthen the muscle in my big toe. All other toes flex really well. I do towel crunches every second day, releves on a single foot daily, and the ankle rotations (which you are right are a killer on the calves).
Thank you
Gaenor.